Personal

I’ve noticed in my site stats that I’ve been getting a surprising amount of visits from Japan.  Konnichiwa! They probably just think I’m some American baka, but whatever. Anyway, I had an epiphany today.  And if you care, I’ll share it here. I wrote a concert band piece a while ago, inspired by Sound! Euphonium.  It’s actually not a bad piece.  Everyone I’ve shown it to has liked it, and I’m actually somewhat happy with it too.  It’s something I’m not ashamed to share, and I guess that’s something. Compared to… Read More »Anime: Reconnecting with what was Lost

In Love Live, there are a lot of different groups, and one of the interesting things is that each one has their own character to their lyrics and songs.  The three main groups – mu’s, Aquors, and Liella, tend to write happy, cheerful songs that are supposed to be like, well, pop songs I guess.  but they’re not the only group, and the groups like Arise and Saint Snow have different lyrics, and they tend to be far more success and goal oriented. “Self Control”, for example. One lyric that got… Read More »Self Control

I’ve watched a lot of anime lately. Now, let’s be clear about one thing:  I’m pretty picky about the anime I watched.  Some anime that is very popular I dropped after as little as one episode.  “The Quitessential Quintuplets”, for example.  Maybe I’ll pick that up at some point, but I doubt it.  It has no real redeeming quality, and is just cringe to me.  Others I watched through and somewhat regretted it.  “My Dress-Up Darling” was in that category.  It was brainless and the main character seemed to be… Read More »Why Anime Hurts

I didn’t get a childhood. I’m not really exaggerating in that statement, though as with every statement like that, there are nuances.  It’s generally correct. I did not get a childhood.  Every opportunity I had for “normal” development was stunted – either inadvertently or deliberately.  The end result is the same.  I didn’t get a childhood. The thing about our society is that (and this is understandable) you only really get one chance at a childhood.  I mean, after all, you’re a child, and then you’re not, right?  If you… Read More »Anime, Otaku, and Lost Childhood

There’s a “rule” that whenever you see a question in a headline, the answer is “no”.  It’s not quite so simple in this case. The question maybe should be posited a little broader:  Should I continue studying anything about Japan, including Japanese? I’ve asked this before, but the reasons for my question are different now. My recent foray into the world of “Love Live”, and my subsequent flaming withdrawal from said world, made me think.  Oh yes, you might say, that never happens, Gaijin!  You never think about anything! Sarcastic… Read More »Should I Continue Watching Anime?